Fake money

2023

Halving the number of fake money to 12.4 thousand

The number of fake money in Russia in 2023 almost halved compared to 2022 and amounted to about 12.4 thousand banknotes and coins. This is evidenced by the data of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, published on February 27, 2024.

According to the regulator's Telegram channel, in 2023, two fakes accounted for a million banknotes in circulation, which is half as much as a year earlier. Counterfeit banknotes of foreign states in 2023 were found 373 pieces less than a year ago - about 1.4 thousand pieces. Among the identified fakes of foreign currency in 2023 were the leaders:

• dollar United States (1,126 counterfeits);
• euro (303 pieces);
• Chinese yuan (5);
• Ukrainian hryvnia (2);
• Swedish krones (1);
• UAE Dirhams (1).

source = CBR

Maxim Fedorov, investment adviser at Fontvielle Investment Company, notes that the number of counterfeits of foreign currency in Russia is decreasing, since fraudsters prefer to fake rubles. Another reason is a decrease in the currency flow of cash from abroad, the expert said.

According to the Central Bank, in 2023, the least identified fake banknotes with a face value of 10 rubles - only one. Also revealed 8,856 fake five thousandth banknotes, 2,438 fake banknotes with a face value of 1000 rubles, 671 fake banknotes with a face value of 2000 rubles, 154 fake coins with a face value of 10 rubles and 61 fake coins with a face value of 5 rubles.

The largest number of fake banknotes was registered in the Central Federal District (61317 counterfeits), the smallest - in the Far Eastern Federal District (186). Also, the statistics of the Central Bank included data on fake money in the North-West Federal District (1610 fakes for 2023), the Southern Federal District (2018), the Volga-Vyatka Economic District (1037), the Ural Federal District (872) and the Siberian Federal District (387).^[1]

In the Belgorod region, a suspect in the manufacture of 25 million fake rubles was detained

The employees FSB MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS detained Belgorod region a local resident who was trying to sell a large batch in the fake money region. This was announced on July 27, 2023 by the press service of the Belgorod District Court. More. here

In the 1st quarter, 3018 counterfeit banknotes were found

The most counterfeit banknotes in Russia are 5,000 and 1,000 rubles, according to the Central Bank. In total, in the first quarter of 2023, 3,018 counterfeit banknotes of the Bank of Russia were found in the Russian banking system. This is 63% less than in the same period in 2022.

FSB closed printing 1 billion fake rubles a year printing house

Dagestan In detained a group of people who printed fake bills in a printing house and then sold them. Over the year, this criminal group managed to print fakes worth more than 1 billion. rubles The press service FSB announced this on March 22, 2023.

Counterfeiters conducted activities in the Levashinsky district of the region. They printed banknotes of five thousand rubles, and then sold them through wholesale channels in various regions of the country. The operation to detain criminals was carried out by the FSB together with. MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS Criminal cases were opened against the detainees under article 186 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - the manufacture, storage and sale of counterfeit money by an organized group. 11 people were taken into custody. Now the detainees face imprisonment for up to 15 years.

Searches were carried out at the places of residence of the detainees in Dagestan, Ingushetia and Chechnya. During the searches, the security forces found over 20 million counterfeit banknotes, clichés for printing fakes in the printing house, as well as a matrix for making dollars. In addition, money printing equipment was found, as well as professional means of reproducing banknote protection elements. A special paper was also found on which money is printed. One of the detainees also found more than 300 ammunition for the AK-74 machine gun.

For her part, the official representative MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS Russia Irina Volk clarified TASS that the fakes were distributed in,, in Rostov region, and Stavropol Territory Ingushetia To Chechnya Dagestan. At the same time, the products of illegal manufacturers could only be recognized using special equipment.

FSB confirmed the detention of counterfeiters who printed more than 1 billion rubles in Dagestan

One of the alleged participants in the criminal scheme, which was responsible for transporting fakes, was detained by police in the city of Pyatigorsk. In the bag, she transported 1,271 fake bills worth more than 6.3 million rubles, "Volk said.

The FSB clarified that more than 200 law enforcement officers were involved in investigative actions against counterfeiters.^[2]

2022

The number of money fakes in Russia fell to a minimum in 12 years

At the end of 2022, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation registered about 22.9 thousand counterfeit Russian banknotes, which is 1.6 times less than a year earlier. The regulator published such data on February 15, 2023.

According to the Central Bank, for 1 million banknotes in circulation, in 2022 there were four fakes against six in 2021. Also in 2022, about 1.8 thousand counterfeit banknotes of foreign countries were discovered, which is 4.7 times less than a year ago. The result for 2022 was the lowest in 12 years.

Dynamics of the share of counterfeit banknotes in circulation

Among the counterfeit banknotes identified in 2022 in the Russian Federation were 14,184 five-thousandth banknotes, 4336 banknotes with a face value of 2 thousand rubles and 3,637 counterfeit banknotes with a face value of 1 thousand rubles. Least of all, fake banknotes with a face value of 50 rubles (30) were revealed. Also, 183 fake coins with a face value of 10 rubles, 83 coins with a face value of 5 rubles and three fake coins with a face value of 1 ruble were identified.

Counterfeit banknotes of foreign countries were identified 1,811. Among the fakes, the majority were fake dollars (1,558 pieces). Counterfeit euro banknotes were found 238. In addition, fake yuan (10 pieces), sterling (three) and Norwegian crowns (two banknotes) were found.

Distribution of counterfeit banknotes by type of banknotes

The largest number of counterfeit banknotes was found in the Central Federal District (10,763 pieces), the smallest - in the Far Eastern Federal District (430). In the North-West Federal District, 3766 counterfeit money were registered, in the South - 3715, in the Urals - 1096.

Andrei Oksenchuk, a specialist in the cash circulation department of the Main Directorate of the Bank of Russia for the Central Federal District, said that Russians should follow four rules so as not to become a victim of counterfeiters. These are Place Rule, Magnitude Rule, Three P Rule, and Helper Rule^[3]

In the second quarter, the number of counterfeit banknotes discovered decreased by 27% to 6387 pieces.

Counterfeit ruble banknotes and coins in the banking system in the second quarter of 2022 became a quarter less than in the same period in 2021, the Bank of Russia reported. "6,387 counterfeit banknotes of the Bank of Russia were found, which is 26.96% less than in the same period in 2021 (8,744)," the material published on the Central Bank website says.

Detention of counterfeiters in Dagestan

In January 2022, employees in Dagestan FSB MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS detained suspects in the production and distribution of counterfeit bills. An underground workshop for the production of counterfeit money was organized in the village of Sergokala. During searches, at least 12 million rubles five-thousandth banknotes were seized from counterfeiters. The quality of the fakes was so high that they could only be identified using special equipment.

2021: The closure of a fake bill store on the dark web and the detention of suspects

In April 2021, the security forces closed Oleg Efimov's Bank of Russia store on the darknet at the Hydra site. He sold fake banknotes that even ATMs accepted, they were checked by a detector. During the investigation, it turned out that the printing press was located in Nizhny Novgorod, where local residents of Arisov, Aferov, Skvortsov and Efimov were detained. They launched about 1 billion fake rubles into circulation.

During the search, two sets of printing equipment were seized from them, on which counterfeit money was made, color laser printers, laptops, mock-ups of bills, a laminator, threads for pasting into banknotes and blanks of images of emblems. In addition, counterfeiters were found to be ready to send fakes worth 800 thousand rubles.

As it turned out, the money printed in Nizhny Novgorod was delivered to Messrs. Porkhunov and Isaeva, who were engaged in their further implementation. They sold wholesale batches (from 500 thousand rubles) for 10-15% of the face value. But small batches were in greatest demand in the regions - from 10 thousand to 150 thousand rubles. Their counterfeiters gave for 30% of the face value.

Communication and settlement with buyers was carried out on the same Hydra. After payment through an impersonal wallet, and exclusively cryptocurrency, a batch of fake money was sent from Moscow with fake passports through a transport company to accomplices. Those, in turn, made bookmarks in caches, as a rule, in a deserted forest park zone and transmitted coordinates to buyers.

They launched about 1 billion fake rubles into circulation.

2020

48,293 fake money revealed in Russia - Central Bank of the Russian Federation

In 2020, 48,293 fake bills and coins were identified in Russia, according to data from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Including counterfeits found in the following amount:

• 33,707 five thousandth banknotes;
• 7480 banknotes with a face value of 1000 rubles;
• 1450 banknotes with a face value of 2000 rubles;
• 6 counterfeit banknotes for 10 rubles;
• 5,014 counterfeit coins with a face value of 10 rubles;
• 52 counterfeit coins with a face value of 5 rubles.

As the regulator noted, the indicator characterizing the level of counterfeiting, equal to the ratio of the number of detected counterfeit banknotes of the Bank of Russia to the number of banknotes in circulation in 2020, remained consistently low and amounted to 7 counterfeits per 1 million banknotes in circulation. Thus, the share of identified counterfeit banknotes in the total number of banknotes in circulation remained at the level of 2018 and 2019.

Most of the fake money was detected in the Central Federal District - more than 22 thousand, the least - in the Far Eastern Federal District (646). In addition, 1,730 counterfeit foreign banknotes were discovered in 2020, including 1,573 US dollars, 118 euros and 37 Chinese yuan.

A surge in counterfeits in 2020 occurred in August, when 6,583 fake cash signs were identified. Maximum counterfeiting at the end of summer is due to the end of the vacation period, when numerous purchases are traditionally made on the eve of the new school season. It is during this period that money turnover increases many times over, and people often lose their vigilance, experts warn.

In December 2020, 5186 counterfeit money was revealed in the Russian Federation, and the minimum level was registered in May (2084), which may be due to the weak purchasing activity of Russians in the conditions of restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.^[4]

Blocking the work of an underground printing house in Makhachkala

Investigators with special forces soldiers conducted 55 searches at the same time in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Leningrad, Rostov, Saratov and Volgograd regions, as well as in the Stavropol Territory and Dagestan. In Makhachkala, on the basement of one of the private houses, there was an underground printing house for the production of counterfeit money.

The police found several laser printers, stencils and magnetic tapes, paper, as well as a laser engraver for applying perforations and a pack of already printed bills in denominations of 5000 and 1000 rubles.

Police officers managed to detain only 47-year-old Akhmed Isaev, the brother of the alleged organizer of the criminal group, 53-year-old Arsen Isaev, in the cottage. The latter, shortly before the visit of the police, managed to escape and was put on the federal wanted list. Earlier, Isaev Sr. was already convicted of counterfeiting and served ten years.

The underground printing house in Makhachkala worked for at least two years, producing about 25 million rubles a month. In total, members of this criminal group could print more than half a billion fake rubles.

At the same time, banknotes had the main degrees of protection, including watermarks and magnetic tape, and it was almost impossible for a simple layman to identify a fake.

The sale of counterfeit money was established both through a network of distributors in dozens of regions and through the Hydra Internet resource. The Isaev brothers did not disdain to take their goods to the capitals. They personally made several such voyages with bags packed with money from Makhachkala to Moscow Vnukovo airport and St. Petersburg Pulkovo. Counterfeiters sold their goods depending on the volume for 20-50% of the face value. Fake bills from Makhachkala managed to spread to almost all subjects of Russia.

Counterfeiters fell asleep on the stupidity of distributors - in Rostov-on-Don in the spring of 2020, two Armenians Mardiyan and Kosyan bought game consoles for fakes eight times in a row. And for the ninth time they were detained.

The production of fake banknotes worth 1 billion rubles was disclosed. They came true over the Internet

On April 7, 2020, it became known about the detention of a gang of counterfeiters who managed to print and put into circulation about 1 billion rubles. Counterfeit banknotes with a face value of 5 thousand, 2 thousand and 1 thousand rubles were of such high quality that detectors did not recognize fake in all stores.

Such money was made in, Nizhny Novgorod from where it was supplied to almost all regions Russia through an Internet resource. Hydra After the buyer made payment through an impersonal wallet with cryptocurrency, Moscow a batch of fake money was sent to accomplices through fake passports through a transport company. Those, in turn, made bookmarks in caches, as a rule, in a deserted forest park zone and transmitted coordinates to buyers.

The criminal organization included several dozen people, while none of them personally knew each other.

A large channel for the sale of high-quality counterfeit money was stopped in the Russian Federation

Both wholesale shipments of counterfeit banknotes and small ones were sold. When buying fake money in the amount of more than 500 thousand rubles , 10-15% of the face value was taken for them, and if the batches were small (from 10 to 150 thousand), then the "price" reached 30%.

At the moment, it has already been established that the criminal group existed for about a year and during this time managed to carry out more than 3 thousand transactions for the sale of counterfeit money.

Police officers were able to establish the identities of the organizers of the underground business and direct producers of fake money only in the spring of 2020.

Investigators went to 25-year-old Muscovite Yulia Isaeva and her peer, a resident of Balashikha near Moscow, Alexander Porkhunov. The latter, as the operatives found out, was the creator of online stores on the Hydra site, through which fake money was sold. And, according to investigators, Ms. Isaeva was engaged in it.

Underground production of banknotes was organized by three residents of the Nizhny Novgorod region: Oleg Efimov, Ivan Aferov and Andrei Skvortsov. During the search, printing equipment, color laser printers, laptops, mockups of banknotes, a laminator, threads for pasting into banknotes and blanks of emblem images were seized from them. All detainees are now in custody.

According to Kommersant, in addition to the original Art. 186 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, they were charged with committing a much more serious crime - organizing a criminal community or participating in it ( part 1 and part 2 of article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The defendants in this criminal case are several dozen manufacturers, distributors and buyers of counterfeit money from almost three dozen Russian regions. According to the newspaper, most of them, including the organizers, have already pleaded guilty to the incriminated act. The case itself, given the scale and interregional branching, is going to be transferred to the investigative department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.^[5]

Notes